After getting the Opportunity Card, Feng Xue didn't come across anything worthwhile again. He casually collected some cards with Traits, planning to try binding them together when he got back and see if he could make a skill book.
He wasn't worried about finding the right Traits for a skill book. After all, aside from the clothes, the Sleeve Blade on his right hand, and a leather bag, he still had everything else from the Assassin Set he'd been wearing when he crossed over. Every piece of that gear had the [Assassin] Trait. As long as he paired it with some Traits that seemed vaguely related to technique, putting together a skill book shouldn't be difficult. The real question was whether a Phantom Object made this way would actually let him learn a skill at a glance.
There was little left nearby to scavenge. Feng Xue stepped over corpses on the verge of being broken down by the Garbage Dump and headed for the exit with a bag full of cards.
Feng Xue had stayed out late this time, and all the Garbage Dump's exits were already crowded. Protecting his backpack, he waited in line for over half an hour before finally reaching an appraisal counter. Without a second thought, he dumped everything in his bag onto the table.
The appraiser glanced at the items, then gave Feng Xue a look as if he were an idiot. He said flatly, "Estimated value: 2,600 towers. Give him six bricks. I'll take the rest." (Gems were bought at a premium, so he could take a twenty percent cut.)
"How come it's so little?" Feng Xue was secretly delighted, but put on an incredulous expression. "I'd understand if the cards weren't worth much, but I've got a diamond and an engine here! It's a D Wheel Engine!"
"I know it's a gem. The 2,500 towers are for the gem. This engine... tsk, take it or leave it!" The appraiser rolled his eyes. The young man beside him was kinder and offered an explanation. "Your engine doesn't have an external interface, so you can't supply it with energy from outside. We can drive other engines with Shi, but to put it plainly, this thing isn't worth the scrap metal it's made of. Those 100 towers are for the hundred-odd sheets of card stock. At least they look like you could write on them..."
"I don't believe it!" Feng Xue said, clicking his tongue. "I'm not selling it. I can take it with me, right? And, uh, I don't want the gem."
"Sure, of course!" the appraiser said indifferently. He'd seen plenty of people like this and couldn't be bothered to argue. The young man beside him spoke in a businesslike tone. "We buy gems at a premium: 500 towers. The remaining cards and one engine are worth 100 towers in total. To buy them, you need to pay 150 towers. That makes your change 350 towers. Is that all right?"
Without waiting for Feng Xue's reply, the young man set three bricks and a fifty-tower coin on the table, indicating that Feng Xue should take them.
"I made a profit, so why do I feel so awful about it?" Feng Xue grimaced, shouldered his backpack again, and left the Garbage Dump. He hadn't found many Traits this time, but they were all quality picks. He couldn't wait to turn them into Phantom Objects!
Even though he was impatient, Feng Xue didn't head straight home after leaving the Garbage Dump. Instead, he stopped by the shopping district to buy little things like needles and thread. He didn't have a stapler, after all, and he'd need some tools to bind a stack of cards into something that could count as a "book."
"It worked!" Two hours later, Feng Xue looked at the palm-sized "booklet" before him and finally let out a long breath. Card stock and book paper were fundamentally different, and binding them together had proved far more difficult than he'd expected. Even with the traditional method of punching holes and stitching the pages together, making the result qualify as a book was a hassle.
After ruining several attempts, Feng Xue had finally managed to make something that at least looked the part. The Golden Finger's vision still showed it as nothing but Garbled Code, but at least it now recognized the thing as a single whole.
And a whole meant it could be Smelted.
Taking a deep breath, Feng Xue opened the Reforge page. Unlike when he'd first crossed over, his Golden Finger had now stored quite a few Traits.
But since he wanted to make a Phantom Object secret manual, his first concern wasn't getting it right in one go. It was keeping useless Traits to a minimum.
Based on his previous experience, Reforging would definitely imprint the selected Traits onto an object. But depending on how much Shi he put in, it could also add a few Traits or change the ones already there.
So Feng Xue's approach was to use small amounts, repeatedly.
"I have the [Assassin] Tag, so the [Assassin] Trait should be the best fit... Since it's a secret manual, the [Learning] Trait I got from the blackboard should work. Then I need to think about its type. I want something I can use in actual combat... Adding the [Combat] Tag should be a safe bet. Hmm, I'll add [Agility] to build on my strengths..."
Feng Xue hadn't expected to succeed on his first try, so he'd mostly chosen Traits he had in relatively large quantities. As time passed, the booklet, which had originally been nothing but Garbled Code, gained a growing number of Traits that formed a coherent system.
The moment Feng Xue imprinted the fourth Trait, an anomaly finally occurred.
The disorderly Garbled Code in the little booklet made of bound cards began to twist and warp, then clashed with itself. Feng Xue had only put in a little Shi this time, yet several Traits appeared in quick succession.
As Feng Xue watched the Traits change, his heart nearly leaped into his throat. One of them looked like [Illustrations]. The moment another took shape, the whole book changed too, transforming from the crude stack of cards into a traditionally elegant stitched book. And the last Trait seemed to be...
[Incomplete]?
"Damn it! Don't pull any crap on me!"
Feng Xue stared at those big words, "Incomplete," and almost didn't dare open his eyes. But the book had already become a Phantom Object, and there was nothing he could do about it now. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then looked down at the thin stitched book—
Name: Phantom Object · Butian Ge Secret Manual
Traits: [Assassin], [Learning], [Combat], [Agility], [Illustrations], [Profound], [Secret Manual], [Incomplete]
Description: Images are hidden within the verses, forms revealed between the lines. Whether abundant or spare, nothing is lost or left over. It depicts the celestial bodies in words and engraves them upon the spirit's platform, thereby clearing the mind and calming the heart. Formless in form, it is a wondrous cultivation method, like strolling among the highest heavens. (Book information: ○×××××)
Remark: Read a book? Write one yourself...
Feng Xue stared at the book, utterly dumbfounded. What was this supposed to be?
Good news: He'd made a secret manual.
Bad news: It was incomplete!
Before you continue